


Balance

by GreenieMerry



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, F/M, Gen, Happy ending???, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Major character death - Freeform, but I want to tag that there is mention of suicide, but it's not really suicide, post-identity reveal, so please if you are easily triggered I don't want you to read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-29 00:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18215423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenieMerry/pseuds/GreenieMerry
Summary: Adrien knows that there has to be a balance, it's how it works. Life for a life, but it doesn't make it any easier. He misses her, and he loves her and wants to do something to show her how much, and in the end balance is restored.





	Balance

**Author's Note:**

> So, I woke up this morning with this story idea, and I just had to write it, so I did. I know it isn't perfect and it is my first fic writing for this fandom, but I'm proud of this work and hope that anyone who reads it, gets some kind of feeling reaction out of it. 
> 
> lastly yes, there is a suicide mention in this story, though not really, but it is there and I want to make sure I point it out several times, if you can't/don't want to read this story because of that no hard feelings, you, reader are more important than any kudos or comments that I can receive.

Adrien can still hear her laugh, and the way her smile would light up her eyes. He would sometimes see her from the corner of his eye, sitting on a bench, sketching, focused on whatever design she was creating. Sometimes she looks up and smiles at him, then he would turn to look and see just an empty bench. 

\---

Mylene moved to sit next to Alya, about two days after they found Marinette’s body, “It’s okay to cry Alya…we all miss her.” Mylene said, her own voice betraying her.  
“I just wish, she would have told me what was going on…I would have listened.” Alya, sniffed.  
That same day they had a special guest speaker come to class to talk about suicide prevention, and what they could do if they felt hopeless, or if they thought they had a friend who was in trouble.  
Adrien wanted to scream. To lash out, to tell the truth. 

\---  
Ladybug and Chat Noir worked in a balance. Without her he was chaos, impulsive, destructive. Without him, she would over think everything, and second guess herself. She was the hero, he was the protector of the hero, to make sure she got the job done.

To make any wish on the two Miraculous’ would mean their had to be a balance. If someone wished for riches, someone would then be in poverty. If someone wished for fame, someone would be invisible.

_“I wish for, the love of my life, Emilie Agreste to be brought back life.”_ Emilie started to wake, and Marinette fell over. A life for a life. One love’s return, one’s lover lost. Balance was restored. 

Ladybug was dead and there was nothing he could do. They lost. He screamed as Nathaile pulled him out of the room, with a fight, he was able to grab all the jewels, but she had to pull him off Marinette's body.

Adrien didn’t know who dumped the body in the Sein, not for sure, he suspected it was his bodyguard, only because he quit the day after it all went down, his father has yet to find a replacement. He hasn’t spoken, or even looked at his father since, he wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

Marinette parents were distraught with worry, at first, they thought she had runaway, then they found her body, and everyone deemed it a suicide, because everyone agreed how else would a teenage girl end up in the Sein? It was frustrating to Adrien, that people would think Marinette would do something like that.

 

\--

“She loved you.” Alya told him, he, Nino and Alya volunteered to help Tom and Sabine to help clean her room, find things to put up for her funeral. Her parents only lasted a few minutes in the room before being overcome with grief and had to leave. Adrien went because he wanted to know the girl behind the mask better, because he was Marinette’s friend. Ladybug’s partner, he owed it to her, and her parents. 

He turned around from looking at her sketch book that she left open on her desk, alongside a picture of him. He saw Ayla’s eyes brimming with tears, her lip trembling, “she spent so much time trying to figure out how to tell you,” Alya wiped her eye, “she’d sometimes come up with the most elaborate ideas, and we’d all tell her, that all she had to do was tell you.” She let out a frustrated laugh, “she’d probably be so embarrassed right now, if she knew I was telling you.” 

“She loved me?” He asked, confused, he knew that she was in love with somebody, but it never occurred to him that he was the boy.

“Yea dude, like head-over-heels, she made you gifts, don’t you remember? Not to mention she could hardly talk to you.” Nino said, looking through Marinette’s music selection on her computer. 

Adrien wished for nothing more than for Marinette to stumble into school again, he wished nothing more than to hear her voice as she tried to form a coherent sentence as she jumbled her words around as he tried to follow, and she laughed it off, he missed her so much. “She made me gifts?” he asked.

Alya nodded, “Yea, um you remember your birthday a couple years ago, um when your father gave you that blue scarf?” 

Adrien nodded, then realization hit, “that…that was really from her?” 

Alya nodded, “she dropped it off at your place, after that disaster of a party, and I don’t know, she forgot to sign or something, no idea what happened, but you were so happy when you said it was from your father, she didn’t want to take that away from you.” 

Adrien could feel the tears prickling at the corner of his eyes, thinking back to all the small little tokens that Marinette had given him, macarons to lucky charms and everything in between, and lastly and as unintentional as the scarf mix up, the last gift she gave him was his mother. 

A life for a life. 

“I know she kept some plants up on her balcony, I’m going to go up and water them,” Adrien said, as he took off toward her loft bed, and to outside, shutting the trap door behind him. 

There alone he let the tears flow, he loved her, and she loved him, and she was taken away, just as they found each other. He walked around her balcony, checking each plant, and adding a bit of water to them.

“Minou?” He heard her voice, calling him, he turned around hoping, that she was standing behind him, smiling, ready to tell him that everything was alright after all. She wasn’t of course and he was just as alone as when he first came up here. He turned back toward the plant he was tending, and sitting on one of the leaves was a ladybug it sat there for a moment, before he watched it fly off. 

\---

“How are you Adrien?” Emilie asked, as soon as Adrien stepped through the door, his eyes still puffy from the tears he spilled on his partner’s balcony.

He only shook his head, he couldn’t be angry at his mother, not really, did she understand the price that was payed for her revival? When she finally came to, it was the next morning, and she knew nothing about Ladybug and Chat Noir’s loss, at the hands of his father, because of her. All miraculous’ were safe, back with Master Fu, balance restored. He made sure of that. It’s what Ladybug, Marinette would have wanted.

“I’ll be okay Mother.” He said quietly, after about a minute, “I’m going to have dinner upstairs in my room if that’s alright.” 

Emilie nodded, wishing that her return to health didn’t coincide with the death of his friend. 

 

Adrien stepped into his room, flicking on his light, for a moment he waited for Plagg to fly from his shirt begging for camembert, but it was silent. The only thing that remained of Plagg was the tan line around his finger. He stood at his piano, tapping out a small melody just to null the silence. 

_“So, are you going to play or not?” Plagg asked him as he floated above Adrien as he sat at the piano._

_“I never written a song before Plagg…it’s going to take time.” Adrien said as he laid his fingers over the keys._

_“Urg,” the kwami said in disgust, “you’re not going to write Ladybug a love song, are you?”_

_Adrien blushed as he played a short melody, “I just want to tell her how I feel.”_

Adrien never did write the song, he didn’t know how, he could play songs already written but didn’t have the creative force to actually write his own melody, too words left unsaid.  
He pulled out his phone, and made a call.

“Hey Chloe, you said that Jagged Stone was staying at the hotel?”

\---

It was Kim who reminded everyone at school about what to wear to the funeral, namely what color they should wear. Adrien knew this, having studied both the language and the Chinese culture for some years now. He adjusted his shirt collar and sleeves and watched as Marinette’s family and friends fill the church, all wearing the traditional white. He flattened his own white shirt out, the nerves starting to creep in.

“Hey, don’t worry.” Luka said, putting his hand on his shoulder, “you’ll do great, it’s a great song, Mari would have loved it.” 

“Yea.” Jagged said, giving his guitar a last tune, before he funeral started. He still wore the sunglasses that Marinette made for him, though today they perched over his head, “it’s a hell of a love song.” 

Adrien let out a small laugh, first one in weeks, because only Jagged would say ‘hell’ in a church.

Adrien hadn’t been to many funerals, but he supposed this one went as many others do. People closest to Marinette spoke about her, read passages, and shared memories. The pastor gave the Lord’s Prayer, then it was his turn.

He walked over to the piano, and sat down, Jagged and Luka sitting on stools beside him, to be his acoustic accompaniment, but they assured it him, that it was still his song, “This is for you, My Lady,” he said, before he started to play. 

He played, pouring his soul out into the song, barely noticing when Jagged and Luka joined in, he let the tears fall, and his voice break.

“Oh, Minou, this is beautiful, thank you.” Adrien heard her say, he opened his eyes, but he still played, from the corner of his eyes, he saw her, standing against a pillar. 

_“The most important rule.” Kim said, as he stood in front of the class, “is just don’t wear red, red in our cultures means luck, joy, happiness and celebration, not appropriate for a funeral.”_

She stood there, in her red Ladybug suit, only without the mask, she was smiling at him, as if telling him that, despite everything, everything will be okay. “I love you Adrien, my Kitty.” 

Adrien gave a small smile as he finished the song, “I love you, Marinette.” He said back to her, as he turned to where she was standing, only to find the space empty. A since of calmness entered him though for the first time in weeks. 

 

\---

They gathered at the bakery afterward, to enjoy some of Marinette’s favorite baked goods and to share their favorite stories. For the first time in a long time, Marinette’s name could be said again with happiness and laughter. Everyone was taking the time to enjoy their time together and celebrate the life that was Marinette. 

“Breaking News, from Paris this evening.” A newscast interrupted the storytelling as everyone turned to the television, no one was sure who even turned it on, “Famous fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste is under arrest, after admitting to being the super villain, Hawkmoth, he admits that he has acted alone, it is rumored that his wife’s sudden reappearance has something to do with the disappearance of Ladybug and Chat Noir-” The television was shut off suddenly.

“Ah yes, balance is restored.” A voice beside said, Adrien turned to see Master Fu standing next to him, his eyes twinkling slightly, “looks like she had one last Lucky Charm in her after all, hm?” he said. 

Adrien nodded, smiling slightly, “I think it was one last Miraculous Ladybug if you were to ask me.” 

“Perhaps you are right.” Master Fu said, and held out his hand, “pleasure working with you.” 

“You too.” Adrien said, as he shook the Master’s hand, and felt him slip something into his palm, he touched it, and slipped it on to his finger, “you think I should ever tell them? How she really died?” he asked the old Master.

Master Fu shrugged, but he smiled, “I’ll leave that up to you, Chat.” Master Fu told him, before leaving to the buffet table.

Adrien looked around the room, the conversation turned back to Marinette, as it should and he smiled and turned toward the door, telling Nino, before he left that he just needed some fresh air. 

Minutes later he was on the rooftops again, watching over Paris, and from the corner of his eye she walked beside him.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know that much about Chinese funerals, but I did a google search, because I was sure that they wore white typically, and included that. I had Kim speak on it, because it is something that both Vietnamese, and the Chinese share, and I thought it better that he speaks on it. 
> 
> I'll let you, dear reader, determine what Adrien/Chat does, if he tells her family or not, but this is where I felt like the story ended for me. 
> 
> If you want you can tell me what you liked, what I should work on for next time, or any thoughts and feelings you have regarding this, or nothing at all!


End file.
